I had the pleasure of presenting at #SXSW this year on a panel. My fellow panelists – André Blackman, Abe Cajudo & Pam Slim – and I waxed poetic on why it’s no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ for brands to authentically engage with diverse audiences. Diverse audiences aren’t going anywhere – in fact they’re growing. The sooner we all do the important work of making our businesses & brands, marketing & advertising more inclusive, the better for everyone.

But a funny thing happened on the way back from Austin. The news about Starbucks’ new #RaceTogether initiative broke. And it seemed to play into everything we were talking about during our panel. A good intentioned CEO with hopes of getting the dialogue started about race in our country (a very necessary conversation) with the poorly thought out plan of having baristas deliver the message. Howard Shultz is not an evil person and he’s certainly not a stupid person. He just oversimplified a complex issue and tried to throw a blanket solution at it. It happens all of the time.

I hope that after this all dies down Schultz does continue to try and address social issues in an appropriate way. And I sincerely hope that the swift backlash he received doesn’t scare other CEOs and executives from tackling tough topics. As my friend and fellow panelist, Abe Cajudo, said,

“Likes are cheap and conversation is expensive. It’s easier to criticize than to create. It’s easier to attack and shame and point fingers than to accept responsibility (regardless of rightful ownership) and take steps toward positive and lasting change. But change? Change ain’t easy.”

Change ain’t easy. But I’m hopeful that with consistent effort and open dialogues, we’ll get there.

The slides and audio from our panel are now available! Give it a listen and let us know your thoughts. We’ll also be continuing the convo using the #DiverseROI hashtag on Twitter and sharing resources at bit.ly/smdiversity

There are a million and one examples on the internet of brands F-ing up. So we’re always happy when we find an example of a brand who is doing it right. Beco Baby Carriers recently received some complaints from parents in the babywearing community that two of their carriers had patterns that were offensive to Native Americans. They felt that the ‘Woodland Trail’ pattern and the ‘Teepee’ print name were culturally insensitive and served to appropriate Native American culture.

Rather than simply ignore these concerns or worse, issue one of those we’re sorry you’re offended #SorryNotSorry apologies, Beco pulled the Woodland Trails pattern and has renamed the Teepee print to Steps. But that’s not all. They posted a heartfelt apology on their site and listed the steps they are taking to continue to become more culturally aware and inclusive.

Here’s a company who is really showing their commitment to their community – all of their community. They weren’t afraid to admit they were wrong and they know that building an inclusive community doesn’t end with a simple apology. They’re walking their talk.

Diversity is a hot-button issue. The country is moving towards a more multicultural environment, with diverse audiences possessing significant buying power. It’s important for brands and marketers to recognize this immense potential. Embracing diversity is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best decision you can make for your business. Ignoring diversity means you’re leaving money on the table. While many brands recognize they should be embracing diverse audiences, there is also a disconnect in the “how” of it. No one wants to feel like they’re being exploited at the hands of some marketing department; instead, we want to feel like we authentically belong to a larger community. How do you walk the fine line?

DO find a natural fit: Tommy Hilfiger was recently quoted as saying that he made the mistake of chasing a trend when he changed his marketing to cater primarily to urban hip-hop culture. Because of this, he forgot what his brand was truly about, and when influencers in the hip-hop community abandoned Hilfiger in favor of creating their own brands, he was left with a severely altered brand and no one to sell it to. Hilfiger’s problem was that he didn’t approach his marketing in an authentic way. He equated hip-hop with African-American and went after that population, rather than looking for the people of color who would have worn his clothes or been attracted to his clothes in the first place. Don’t force your round brand into a square hole. Look for a natural fit.

DON’T flip-flop: Unfortunately, building an inclusive audience can sometimes be met with criticism or ignorance. Stand strong in your conviction. A recent Honeywell commercial drew sharp criticism for including same-sex couples. Instead of backpedaling or softening their stance, Honeywell released another commercial, doubling down on their position that love is love.

DO go where your audience is: Develop different strategies to approach your community. For example, African-American, Latino, and Asian-American users make up 41% of Twitter’s total United States user base. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach, brands can now create different strategies to attract different types of consumers, using the tools and platforms already familiar to those consumers.

DON’T make sweeping generalizations: The social media team over at ABC got into some hot water recently when promoting their new show, Fresh Off The Boat. They tweeted the image below along with the copy, “The world is full of different hats.” While the message is true, the approach was not the best. They received a lot of backlash for basically reducing different ethnic groups down to their most basic stereotype.

In the end remember to start small with what you have. Maybe it’s using more diverse imagery in your advertising and branding or maybe it’s specifically reaching out to influencers within a more diverse population who are already using your product. Focus on who is already using your products and why. And then communicate with them in exactly the way they want to be spoken to. Invite them on in.